The relegation favourites in the Championship

The Championship is considered as one of the most competitive leagues in the world and down at the bottom it’s going to be close this season.

We’ve taken a look into the current favourites for relegation and analysed their business so far and chances of survival. 

 

Rotherham – 6/4 

Having been relegated in their last three consecutive Championship outings, it’s no surprise to see Rotherham as the current favourites to go down. 

Paul Warne’s side stormed to promotion last season as they accumulated 90 points and secured second place on the final day. 

Rotherham’s biggest strength last season was their defensive reliability as they only shipped 33 goals, an average of 0.71 per game. 

The losses of top goalscorer Michael Smith and reliable defender Michael Ihiekwe could prove costly though. Both players played more than 3600 minutes of football last season and replacing them will be no easy task. 

They have bolstered their attacking options with the introductions of Conor Washington and Tom Eaves however, neither player has been prolific at this level before. 

Last season Rotherham played 33.9 accurate long balls per 90, the fourth most in League One. Tom Eaves will certainly benefit from this kind of service, but they might just end up coming up short. 

 

Birmingham – 13/8 

With off the pitch issues running rife at Birmingham, it’s tough to make a concrete judgment on them at this time. 

While new manager John Eustace has been highly rated as a coach, his lack of managerial experience could prove costly in Birmingham’s situation. 

Last season Birmingham conceded 75 goals at a rate of 1.63 goals per game and only managed to score 1.08 goals per game.  

With a takeover looming, Birmingham have been working with free transfers and loan deals in this window so far. 

They have lost the likes of Ivan Sunjic, Kristian Pedersen and Jeremie Bela, who were all amongst their top seven most used players last season. 

 

Reading – 13/8 

Last season, Reading were subject to a six-point deduction although despite this they still survived by a four-point margin. 

This season things do look slightly more worrying though. 

John Swift has left the club and he was involved in 44% of Reading’s goals last season. 

They have also lost the reliable Andy Rinomhota and Josh Laurent from their midfield core. 

The saving grace Reading could have this season though is Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite providing a consistent flurry of goals. 

Last season Joao averaged a goal every 188 minutes, which if accounted for a full season would see him score 22 goals. 

Despite his goalscoring prowess, there are questions over his fitness and reliability. Throughout his last four Championship seasons he has started an average of 21.5 games, which could turn out to be a problem for Reading. 

The problem Reading had last season was keeping the ball out of their net. They had the joint worst defensive record in the league with 87 goals conceded and they are yet to properly address this area of the pitch. 

They have signed goalkeeper Joe Lumley, although he ranked 41st for Championship goalkeepers last season when it comes to save percentage as he kept out just 66.3% of the shots he faced. 

 

Wigan – 9/4 

Newly promoted Wigan will be hoping to ride the momentum wave which saw them blitz League One with 92 points. 

Leam Richardson’s side were the joint top goalscorers in League One with 82 goals, an average of 1.78 per game. 

The worry with Wigan is the fact they have been fairly slow with their transfer dealings so far. 

As of writing, their only major arrival is Ryan Nyambe and while he looks like an excellent signing, they are relying on several players stepping up to the Championship for the first time. 

Will Keane and Callum Lang accounted for 50% of Wigan’s goals last season and they will be vital in their survival bid this time around.  

 

Blackpool – 10/3 

Blackpool are somewhat of an unknown quantity this season. 

They adapted well to Championship life last season and finished comfortably in 16th place. 

However, a change of manager and somewhat lack of transfer activity so far could drag them down the table. 

The Seasiders averaged 1.3 points per game last season, but the loss of manager Neil Critchley could prove to be fatal.